Bahrain’s business delegation completed several successful high-level bilateral meetings and discussions at the three-day Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit titled “Emerging global value chains: Building partnerships,” being held at the Taj West End Hotel in Bangalore, India. The event concludes on Wednesday.

The Bahrain delegation discussed trade and economic partnerships with Anand Sharma, Indian minister of commerce and industry, CII President S. Gopalakrishnan, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Mustapa bin Mohamed, Malaysian minister of international trade and industry, S. Iswaran, minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore, and a number of Indian business leaders.

In addition to various round-table discussions and high profile meetings, delegation member Essam Fakhro, chairman, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, gave a speech during the Bahrain Country Focus Networking Luncheon.

Kamal bin Ahmed, minister of transportation and acting chief executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), also met with Sanjaya Baru of the IISS to discuss future cooperation.

The Bahrain delegation held discussions with select CEOs from various Indian companies and industries, as well as the CII president and discussed possible future cooperation and investment. The CEOs attending the meeting included

Aroon Raman, MD, and Col. Radhu Akella, president and CEO, both of Raman FibreScience Private Ltd.; and S. Swaminathan, executive director Manipal Group.

At the event, Ahmed, took part in a special plenary session on the emergence of new ‘mega trading blocs’ and their impact on global trade, as well as attended a meeting with D.S.G. Danvers, deputy secretary general of the OECD.

Bahrain’s history with the OECD has been long standing, with cooperation dating back to 2004 through the EDB, who have also assisted the OECD with establishing the first OECD program in the Gulf, as well as the first Centre for Investment in the Arab World.

Ahmed said: “We are always delighted to come to India to build on strong economic and trade relationship that exists between the two countries. The high level bilateral discussions held during this event demonstrate that India and Bahrain are already working in partnership to help businesses flourish and our economies to grow. We look forward to welcoming the CII back to Bahrain and helping many more Indian businesses access the fast growing Gulf market.”

Fakhro said: “Bahrain has been a trading hub for thousands of years. Trade and economic openness sit at the very heart of our economy and events such as this are an excellent opportunity to discuss how we can break down barriers even more to encourage stronger economic growth. Bahrain is uniquely positioned within the GCC and presents Indian businesses with the ideal platform from which to access the fast growing Gulf market. Not only that, Bahrain has a number of international free trade agreements in place, including with the United States.”

A large number of Indian businesses have already established operations in Bahrain as a means of accessing the wider Gulf market, which is now worth $1.5 trillion and is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2020. Major Indian companies with offices or facilities in Bahrain include Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, First Flight, KIMS, JBF Industries, Canara Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India.

India has long been one of Bahrain’s most important trading partners. In 2011 trade between the two countries reached $1.7 billion, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Aside from Ahmed and Fakhro, the Bahrain delegation included Othman Mohamed Sharif Al-Rayes, treasurer and board Member, and Khalid Al-Amin, board member, both of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mohammed Dadabhai, chairman, Dadabhai Group; and Vivian Jamal, executive director-business development, Bahrain Economic Development Board.